Love At First Sight, Only Stronger
by vanillatwilight93
Summary: When her parents are killed in a tragic car accident, Kaitlyn Jenson returns to La Push after 13 years. She lives with her cousin Jacob Black. Will he manage to keep the wolf pack secret from her with her trying to find the answers she wants?
1. Chapter 1: Goodbye

_Author's Note: This story is set after Breaking Dawn, so Jake already imprinted on Renesmee (or Nessie). But I'm changing two small details – Paul didn't imprint on Rachel (Jake's sister). So I'm guessing you guys already have an idea of how he imprints on… And Jake has a new cousin._

**Chapter 1: Goodbye**

I looked out my airplane window and watched as if in a trance as the tress and miniature buildings flew past me at unimaginable speeds. My destination? Forks. La Push to be exact. It was in Washington. It was where I was born.

My parents moved away because dad couldn't find many opportunities there with his degree in law, as Forks didn't offer a good enough law firm. My mom willingly followed him, along with me – who was only 2 at the time. I didn't remember much of my past, being only an infant when we left. I only vaguely remember brief flashes. The backyard filled with crunchy autumn leaves. A blazing fire. The woods stretching on endlessly in every direction…

There was a tightening in my chest. Leaving La Push back then wasn't the hard part. It was coming back that hurt the most. Why was I coming back alone, you ask? Without any family with me? Well, it's because they're gone. My parents were killed in a horrible car crash just a month ago. They were driving home late one night when a drunk driver swerved his van over onto their lane. It was dark, and neither of them saw it coming. In the next moment, they were gone. Dad had been hit by the truck itself, and mom went flying into the windshield.

You know what the cruel thing was? Fate decided to take my parents from me – AT ONLY FIFTEEN – but allowed that truck driver to escape death's grasp with only a few scratches and nothing more? How was that fair? But, as they say: life isn't fair. So there was nothing for me to do besides pack up and live with my only cousin – Jacob Black.

"Are you doing okay, honey?" Sue Clearwater's sweet motherly voice asked me from the seat to my right, startling me from my own thoughts.

I lifted my head from where it was resting on the window to look at her. "Yeah, I'm fine."

She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. "We're almost there. Just a few more minutes." She said before turning her attention to her phone.

Just then, the pilot's voice came through the speakers throughout the entire plane to repeat what Sue had just said.

Sue Clearwater was one of the nicest people I have ever met. Since Billy couldn't come to help me sell the house and pack up for the big move with him being in a wheelchair and all, Sue had offered to come in his place. She was one of those rare people that always had a smile on her face no matter the situation. With her around, the need to cry was sort of less.

I reached down to pick up my bag from where it fell on the floor and hung it around my shoulder and sighed. Tonight Billy, Jacob, and I were having dinner at the Clearwater's. We were going straight there, after dropping my bags off at Billy's, of course. I sighed. This was going to be a long night.


	2. Chapter 2: Reunited

**Chapter 2: Reunited**

I was struggling as I lugged my two bags off to the place Sue said Jacob was waiting for us. They were filled to the brim, and as you imagined, pretty darn heavy. Now, I wasn't exactly the strongest or fittest in my old school. I was only around 5feet 7inches. But I was taller than most girls in my grade.

I secretly envied Sue for packing so lightly. She only brought one suitcase that she carried with what seemed like ease. I was trailing behind her when she suddenly exclaimed.

I heard the loud crash of my bags falling to the ground as I was wrapped in a tight embrace. The arms that grabbed me were russet colored and thickly muscled. Then I noticed something: they were especially warm! Warmer than a normal human's temperature should be.

"Ow!" I tried to squirm away. After a while, I managed to wriggle out from the person's tight grip.

I looked up, at what I remembered to be Jacob's smiling face, now standing at close to 7 feet. "Jake? Jacob, is that you?" I stared disbelievingly.

"The one and only!" He replied, his grin getting bigger by the second. "Oh, Kaitlyn, I've missed you!" He embraced me in another bone crushing hug.

"Jac-ob! Can't. Breathe." I managed to choke out.

He laughed and let me go, picking up both my bags instead. He carried them with almost no effort at all and gestured to the exit with a slight jerk of his head. We followed Sue and Billy out to where a 1986 Volkswagen Rabbit was waiting for us.

I hesitated a bit before blurting out, "Nice car."

"Thanks! I rebuilt it myself! Now, are you going to get in or what?" Jacob yelled from the driver's seat.

I blushed as I got in the back next to Sue.

Throughout the ride, I listened as Billy, Sue, and Jacob started talking. Conversation flowed very easily. I was just sitting quietly off to the side, trying to take in as many details as we could. I had missed a lot, and it was going to be tough trying to catch up with everything that happened since I was gone.

In about twenty minutes, we pulled up at a small-ish house where only Jacob got off to quickly dump my bags inside before running back to the truck and speeding off. Our next destination was another small-ish house with pretty little flowers growing all around it. It reminded me of a large cottage in the woods, which this kind of was, seeing as the woods started right behind it.

Everyone got out. I took a deep breath before following. When I pushed the car door open, I was immediately hit by a gust of wind. I shivered into my sweater and walked faster. I hid behind Jake as I entered the house.

Sue walked straight to the dining room, where I saw the table was already set. There was a ton of food on it. So much that I wasn't sure we could even finish it. I silently counted the number of people that were here for dinner tonight. There was Billy, Jacob, and I, Sue, and I distinctly remember she had two kids. But I forgot their names. Also, her husband, Harry Clearwater, had passed away in the time that I was gone.

"Oh, Leah! Thank you so much for making dinner!" I saw Sue hugging a tall girl of about 5 feet 10 inches. Her face was young and youthful looking despite her body looking around twenty five. I figured that must be her daughter. Now it was coming back to me. Sue also had a son. I looked around for him but saw no one else. I shrugged it off.

A few minutes later, we were sitting around her dinner table, getting ready to start eating. I had found out that the girl's name was Leah, and she was twenty-one years old and her brother – Seth, that was his name – was fifteen. She seemed pretty nice, but a little quiet, and mostly kept to herself. I didn't push her.

I just sat politely and tried to make small talk.

Then, just as Sue was going to say something, the door crashed open with a loud bang that resonated throughout the entire room.


	3. Chapter 3: Brown Eyes

_Author's Note: Thanks to all who read my story and reviewed so far! They mean the world to me! You see, I'm new to the world of Fan Fiction. And I just came up with the idea for this story late one night._

_Gaaragirl202 – Thank you for reviewing BOTH my chapters and adding it to your Story Alert!_

_Valkyrie Shadow – Thanks for adding my story to your Story Alert!_

_Stjarna06 – Wow! I can't believe that you added my story to your Fav Story list already!_

_Now, back to the story…_

**Chapter 3: Brown Eyes**

I flinched back into my seat the minute I heard that loud noise. After my body sensed there was no threat, I quickly calmed down and looked at everyone else. Not one of their faces betrayed surprise or any emotion, for that matter. They all had on a calm exterior, but I saw a hint of worry in each of their eyes. I wondered what that was about, but before I could even ponder the topic more, there were heavy footsteps coming through the door.

The person who walked through the door made no effort to conceal the thud, thud, thud of his footsteps. He or she just walked in like they owned the place. Which, now that I thought about it, they probably did.

"Mom! I'm home! Leah, you won't believe what happened today!" I saw the person walk through the doorway to the dining room where we were and realized that it was a boy, or man… He had called Sue 'mom' so I'm assuming that he was Seth, Leah's brother.

Whoa. I did a double take. Seth was supposed to be fifteen! The same age as me! But he didn't look fifteen; he looked about twenty, or at least eighteen! The think I just noticed, though, was that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

He had come into full view in front of Sue now and as I looked around, I noticed everyone was glaring at him. But he didn't notice a thing. " So, Collin and I were on patrol, right? Everything was normal, like it always is. Then, suddenly, this crazy vam–"

I didn't get to hear the end of his sentence because Billy chose that exact moment to clear his throat, rather loudly. Even though I didn't know what he was talking about at all, I had wanted to listen. Strangely, I felt this weird pull towards him. _Snap out of it, Kate. You don't even know him_, I told myself. Breathe in, out, in out. I can do one night without crushing on a total stranger, can't I? CAN'T I?

Jacob shot me a worried look. Sue spoke up. "Seth, honey? We have a guest, could you go put on a shirt and come right back down please?" She nodded to me.

"Sure, mom!" He didn't even give me a second glance before running up the stairs.

Sue sighed audibly. "Well, Kaitlyn, that was my son. Seth Clearwater?"

I just nodded.

Dinner conversation continued as usual with me silently playing with my mashed potatoes with my fork. I waited in agony as the hours – or should I say minutes – ticked by, until Seth finally came downstairs, properly dressed this time. Billy was sitting at one end of the table, with Sue on the other. Jacob was sitting on the left of his dad, and Leah across from him. I was sitting next to Leah, which meant that the only place left for Seth was… across from me. My heart skipped a beat.

He plopped down in his chair and started dumping insane amounts of each type of food on his plate. Sue cleared her throat. He looked up at her. "Seth, this is Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn, this is my son Seth."

I looked down at his plate – anywhere but his eyes –, when I said a soft hello.

"Kaitlyn, here, is Jacob's cousin. She just moved here from Canada." She gestured to me. Conversation around the table ceased, and everyone was now looking at me. I felt my cheeks turn red.

I finally mustered enough courage to look up, at his face, and into his eyes. What happened next was the strangest thing that had happened to me in my whole life. His jaw went slack and the breath whooshed out from him. His eyes never left mine – his beautiful brown eyes – and I didn't mind one bit. So many emotions flicked across his face that it was hard to tell if it was really there, or I had just imagined it. Confusion, surprise, admiration, wonder, joy… Each one of them lasted for only fractions of a second. The only one that was always there was love.

_God, Kaitlyn! Snap out of it!_ I scolded myself. Either my mind had probably just imagined it or I was desperately wishing for it to happen. Or maybe a bit of both. Everyone was still staring at me, but now they were also staring at Seth. I sneaked a glance at Sue and saw that she had small smile plastered on her face. It was only then that I realized, I had one on mine as well.

"Really, Seth? On my cousin?" Jake started to mumble something incoherent.

I finally was able to tear my gaze away from him and back down to my food. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw sadness in his eyes from a second, before it was gone again. What did Jake mean when he said Seth did something on me? He hadn't been doing anything besides sitting there, staring at me with his mouth wide open. He had closed in now though and extended his hand towards me across the dining table.

"Hi, I'm Seth. It's _very_ nice to meet you."


	4. Chapter 4: From This Moment

**Chapter 4: From This Moment**

The song that immediately popped into my mind was 'From This Moment' by Shania Twain. That was one my mom's favourite songs to sing along to. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, threatening to spill over, but I held them back. I watched as his friendly smiled falter just a little, before he regained composure again. Biting my lip, I reached my hand, which was tiny compared to his, and shook it.

His hand was unnaturally warm. It was hot, like literally hot. Though he definitely was the other hot too. I resisted the urge to scream 'Ow' and pull my hand away. "You too." I squeaked.

He gave me that odd stare again, like before. It was like he was focusing on every little inch of my face, trying to put it to memory. It made me feel uncomfortable and self-conscious, but I didn't say anything. The rest of dinner went by quite awkwardly. Everyone was no longer that interested in talking. Instead most of them were watching us. Some less subtly than others.

I wasn't really that hungry, and would be content with just picking at the little food that was left on my plate. Except Seth kept switching between looking at me and my plate. Almost silently begging me to eat. I didn't know what that was about. Or maybe, I was just reading too much into things. Whatever it was, I listened to my intuition and finished my food. Soon, everyone was done. I was surprised that the food was almost all gone. Before I thought there was no way we could've finished it all. Well, I guess I had been proven wrong.

Sue moved everyone to the slightly larger living room, to socialize more. She kept shooting weird looks at Seth and he returned them with nervous smiles. They sat in a way that left the one couch the furthest away from the television the only place to sit. I didn't really care so much as to where I sat. I was going to sit there when Seth walked right up there and managed to sit down with a kind of grace that I could only hope to have one day. What was amazing was that he could do that with his huge, nearly 6 feet frame. I hesitated only slightly before sitting myself next to him.

Racking my brain, trying to think of conversation topics, I ran short. I wasn't very good at socializing while my parents lived for it. I couldn't start conversations by myself, and usually gave only one-word answers. But with Seth, I felt like I could just tell him everything. I glanced at Jacob who was the closest to me, besides Seth, of course and shot him a 'help-me' look. He smirked and shook his head.

I guess I was on my own then. Seth was still looking at me weird, like he had back during dinner. I worked up my nerves to talk to him. "Seth?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"Yes, Kaitlyn?"

"Call me Kate." I mumbled mechanically. "Anyway, I was going to ask you…" His gaze gave me butterflies in my stomach.

"Ask me what?" He smiled encouragingly.

"Umm…" I seemed to have forgotten how to make words come out of my mouth. _Get a grip, Kate. He's just a boy_. Deep breaths. "I was going to ask you why you were looking at me like that. You know, at dinner? And again, just now."

"Er… It's kind of a long story." His lips curved up ever so slightly, like he remembered some inside joke. If I hadn't been watching him so intently, I might not have noticed it.

"I have nothing else to do now, so go for it."

He sighed. "I can't tell you. At least, not yet. But soon, I promise." He seemed pretty upset just because he couldn't tell me what that was about.

"Okay." I surprised myself with my answer. I was usually very curious, wanting to know why everything happened. And I studied too much into little things. So I didn't know why I was okay with him not telling me certain things. He was, after all, a stranger. He didn't owe me anything.

Jacob chose that moment to lean over and say something, audibly enough for both Seth and I to hear. "Hey Kaitlyn. Remember Harry? Harry Clearwater? He was Seth's father. But he's gone now."

I sneaked a peek at Seth and saw that he had winced a little. I glared at Jacob, giving him a 'that's not very nice' look. Now, I turned to Seth. "I'm sorry. About your dad, I mean. I lost my parents too, just recently, in a car crash." Before I knew what I was doing, I had thrown myself into Seth's arms.

I was going to let go and save whatever was left of my dignity – which wasn't much – but he hugged me back. I could feel his arms, which were muscled but not as much as Jake's, wrap gently around me, as if afraid to hurt me. Reassured by this, I hugged him tighter, burying my head into his chest, trying to regain my composure. What happened next was very strange. I was listening in to their soft exchange but didn't understand a word of it.

"Thanks, man. I owe you one." I heard Seth say to Jacob.

"Hey, no problem." Jake had replied.

I shrugged it off and classified it under 'guy things'. I would've been content staying here, wrapped up safely in his arms forever if I could. But the universe just loved to make me miserable. Seth had slowly let go off me but he still kept his arms on both my shoulders as he pulled me away to get a better look. "Are you okay?" His face was no doubt filled with concern.

I was crying. I was crying all this time and I hadn't even realized it.


	5. Chapter 5: Tears and Comfort

_Author's Note: Thanks to deuces-xo and samcam16 for adding my story to the Favourite Story List! It really means a lot to me. _

**Chapter 5: Tears and Comfort**

"Y-yeah… I'm fine." I managed to choke out.

His lips were twitching ever so slightly, as if he were trying to figure out a hard puzzle, before they curved down at the sides. Not knowing if it was my just imagination going wild, or if it was really happening, I thought I saw pain reflected in his eyes. If it were real, then it really didn't make any sense. Why should he feel pain when I cried? Maybe he was just remembering how his father died. Yeah, that was it. "Are you sure? I'm sorry, but you don't exactly look okay." His hands had dropped from my shoulders and were now placed awkwardly in his lap.

Swallowing, I tried to get rid of this tense atmosphere. "Define 'okay'." I tried to smile. It probably came out as a grimace though, because he visibly winced.

He smiled a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Reaching somewhere behind me, he grabbed a tissue from the tissue box sitting on the coffee table. "Here," He offered it to me.

Muttering out a quick thank you, I took it from him. And for a brief second, my fingers brushed against his. I felt a weird, new sensation, sort of like an electric current pass through my body. It was a good feeling and I wanted to reach out to touch him again but didn't want to seem like a weirdo. Grateful that I don't wear any make up – or else it would've been ruined, making me look like a clown – I dried my eyes and blew my nose.

Turning, I saw that everyone's eyes were on me right now. Blushing furiously, I lowered my eyes. I peeked up at Seth, who was also blushing a little. Jacob started cracking up. His loud laughter filled the empty silence. Leah just scoffed at him and turned her attention back to the television, which was showing some teen sitcom. Billy and Sue shared a knowing look. She was looking at her son encouragingly.

I bit my lip. After a long moment of silence – that seemed surprisingly loud to me – Billy decided to save me from total awkwardness. He stood up thanked Sue, Leah, and Seth for dinner and, turning to face Jacob and I, suggested we go home because it was getting late. I took my cue and stood up and did the same. I thanked Sue and Leah first, saving Seth for last.

"Seth?" He turned around at the mention of his name. "Umm… I just wanted to thank you for just now. I don't know what happened but I sort of broke down in front of you. I'm sorry…" I was babbling.

"Hey, no need to be sorry. I was like that when my dad, passed away too." He barely hesitated while saying that sentence.

"Really?" For some reason, I had a hard time imagining Seth, buff, 6 foot tall Seth, breaking down crying. I guess it was depended on the circumstances.

He nodded. "Well, Billy and Jacob are leaving now. You should probably go too. I mean, seeing as you just got here today and all, you must be pretty tired. You might wanna go home and unpack, or go to bed…" Now it was his turn to babble.

I giggled. The look on his face was one of pure joy and happiness. "Thanks, again. Bye." I said shyly, before retreating to the door. It took me a while to climb up into the truck where Jake and Billy were already waiting.

Jacob's tone was light and teasing when he said, "What took you so long?"

"I was just saying goodbye to everyone." I hoped he couldn't see me blush in the dark.

"By 'everyone', do you mean Seth? And don't try to lie your way out of this one, I can tell I'm right – you're blushing." Darn, how could he see that?

He pulled out of the driveway as I fiddled with my seatbelt. "So, you and Seth, huh? Not a bad match at all." I was too tired to figure out what that meant so I didn't answer. As were driving down the road, I took one last glance at the Clearwater house and saw a figure watching us – me – at the window. It was Seth. My heart raced and I longed to see him again.


	6. Chapter 6: Sleepless

_Authors Note: Seriously guys, NOT feeling the love here. 6 reviews for the next chapter! :D_

**Chapter 6: Sleepless**

We arrived at Billy's house at exactly 11:03p.m. As I looked around, I saw that the place was a mess. It was a complete pig's sty. I made a mental note to straighten the place out tomorrow. Remembering that the only people who lived in this house were Jake and Billy, I understood why. Rachel and Rebecca, Jacob's older sisters had both moved out, leaving the job of keeping this place tidy to a seventeen year-old teenage boy and a man in a wheelchair. Great.

Jacob yawned. "Well, Kaitlyn, I'm beat. I'm going to bed now. You should probably do that too." I looked around for Billy but didn't see him anywhere. I assumed he already went to bed.

"I would love too… except I don't exactly know where my umm… room is." I said, locating my bags placed neatly in a corner of the living room and bent down to pick them up. Or at least attempt to.

"Oh, right! I forgot about that." He looked almost sheepish. In one swift movement, he picked up both my bags and was at the foot of the stairs.

There was no way he could've moved that fast. "How'd you–?" I didn't get to finish my sentence before he cut me off.

"Are you coming or not?" And with that, he disappeared upstairs, leaving me alone to figure out which way he went.

I followed him up the stairs and called his name silently, afraid to wake Billy up, "Jacob? Jake, where are you?"

"Over here!" He whisper-shouted. His voice came from the right so that was the direction I went. It wasn't very confusing and the hallway led straight to a bedroom. When I looked inside, I saw a moderately sized purple bedroom with twin beds on either side of the room covered in pretty little flower patterned sheets. The walls were decorated with picture frames of a smiling happy family, caught in that moment forever. Beside each of the beds, there was a shaded lamp standing on a matching nightstand. I was pretty sure this was Rachel and Rebecca's old room. Since they had moved out, it now belonged to me.

Jacob was sprawled out on one of the beds, eyes closed and in deep slumber. I didn't want to wake him. I recall seeing another bedroom downstairs, which must've been Jake's. So I just placed my bags in the corner of the room. After flicking off the lights, I climbed into bed, trying to make as little noise as possible. The alarm clock on the nightstand next to me at least gave me a sense of time in the dark. Exactly 2 hours later, I decided I couldn't fall asleep, and that it was no use lying there pretending to be asleep.

I got up and looked out the window. It was all pretty silent – I could even hear the soft humming of the heater, which was definitely a necessity here in La Push. The one thing I decided I loved about La Push was its beauty. The woods stretched endlessly and I could not see where it ended, try as I might. The night sky was the one that took my breath away though. All different shades of dark blue and black, blended into something totally mesmerizing. It was as if a piece of black velvet had been laid over the sky and sprinkled with shining gems. I could have just stared it forever.

I stifled a yawn. I was getting sleepy. Good, soon I would be able to go back to bed. When I turned to climb back into bed, there was a flash of movement in the corner of my eye. I whipped around, but saw nothing. I peered down the window, and there it was. A dark figure sort of pacing at the front door. The strange thing was, that some part of me was urging me to go downstairs to have a closer look. _What if it was a wild animal? What if it was dangerous?_ The rational part of me questioned.

"Well, there's only one way to find out." I realized I had accidentally said that out loud and covered my mouth with both my hands. Turning, I noted that Jake was still sound asleep, and snoring as loudly as ever. I guess there wasn't any harm in just going downstairs to have a look. Just one look, then I was going back to bed.

Creeping down the stairs, I tried to make as little noise as humanly possible. I didn't want anyone waking up to see him tip-toing around their house. In the middle of the night.

I restrained myself from straight out running to the front door, so eager to see what it was. Except, there was nothing there. Maybe it was just my imagination? No, I was sure I had seen it. I could NOT have imagined it; I refused to believe I did. I sneaked around to peer out the window at the back of the house. And sure enough, there it was.

Standing at a monstrous height, was a giant sandy coloured wolf.


	7. Chapter 7: Wolf

_Author's Note: Hey, remember how I said I wanted 6 review AT LEAST before I posted the next chapter? Well, I just received a couple of e-mails notifying me that some amazing people (you know who you are!) added my story to their story alert. And I couldn't help it. So here it is! I hope you guys like it. PLEASE REVIEW! They make me really happy. Oh, and feel free to review even if you don't like it. Constructive criticism is how all authors grow! Just don't write anything too mean or hurtful. Thanks!_

**Chapter 7: Wolf**

Breathe, Kaitlyn, you can do this. In, out, in, out. I focused my whole mind on the sole task of breathing – something I've never tried so hard in my life to do before. Well maybe, just maybe, it was due to the fact that there was a giant FRICKING WOLF standing in front of me. I mean, seriously! It was, what? 5, 6 feet, standing on all fours! If I weren't so close to it, I would've mistaken it for a bear, or a horse. It was the size of a bear, but lean and muscular like a horse. For some reason, unknown to even myself, I had stepped outside and was now 6 feet away from the biggest wolf I had ever seen in my entire life.

The expression on the wolf's face was sort of scared or worried; it was hard to tell. Wait. Expression? What was I? Some kind of wolf whisperer? Anyway, it stepped back a step, then two, then three. Only then had I noticed I was hyperventilating. I was probably scaring the poor (I was going to say 'little' but that would've been an understatement) animal away. I would've stepped back inside, but then I realized that I didn't want it to go. I wanted it to stay by my side forever and ever. I wanted to curl against its body, and lay my head on it's presumably soft fluffy fur.

I put my hand over my mouth.

We watched each other in silence; it's eyes communicating some form of message that I longed to comprehend. Once I was sure I was breathing normally again, I took my hand off and let it fall to my side. I should've been cold by now, but surprisingly, this wolf was kind of warm. Struggling to come up with something to say, my fingers fidgeted at my blouse. It seemed to be content with just sitting here in silence, but I felt like saying something. I usually don't mind the silence, but this was just deafening, if you know what I mean. But what do you say to a wolf?

"Hi." I said quietly. I didn't expect it to respond. I did a double take when I actually saw it nod in reply. "I'm Kaitlin. What's your name?" I mentally slapped myself when I said that. Animals didn't have names. And if they did, how was a wolf supposed to tell me? Through mental telepathy? I scoffed at myself. All it did was stick its tongue out and let it hang off one side if it's mouth.

"Okay, your new name is Fluffy." I hesitantly took a step towards it and sat down on the slightly damp grass directly in front of it. It hardly noticed me. It was making this sort of coughing noise, something I assumed to be a wolf version of a laugh, before shaking it off and smiling at me.

"You know what I really want?" I asked it. It shook its head. "I wish you could talk. I feel like I could tell you anything, and you would listen. I just want you to talk back so I could get some input, you know?" He nodded – and yes, I just assumed it was a 'he' – as if in understanding. I took advantage of that and scooted a little closer. Now we were just a couple of feet apart.

I reached out my hand towards it hesitantly. "Can I…?" I was referring to petting its giant furry head, but I didn't finish my sentence. The more rational part of me was screaming at me to get out of there. It was an overgrown wild animal. It could tear my hand off, or worse… But the rational part of me only made up small portion of my personality, so I ignored it.

Luckily, it ducked its head and stepped forward so that it's head was right under my hand. I started stroking it's silky soft fur, lost in my own thoughts. It was making some sort of soft purring noise, like the kind a cat would make. I took that as happiness and continued. Scratching behind it's ear made it roll over onto its back. I started scratching it's belly, hearing it sigh in contentment. I would've been happy here forever. Unfortunately, forever didn't last very long.

The wolf – I mean, Fluffy – jerked its head up and it's ears twitched ever so slightly. I was panicking on the inside, worried that it sensed it's friends, other wolves as big as him, coming. It didn't seem to be bothered getting up though, so I took that as a good sign. That's when I heard Jacob.

"Kaitlyn, what exactly are you doing?" The voice came from behind me and I nearly jumped ten feet in the air. His voice was stern but he had a look of amusement on his face.

"Umm.. I, er… Nothing." I stumbled over my words. My wolf didn't move from its position. Instead, it was frozen under my fingers, which were still mechanically stroking its fur.

Jacob sighed. "Okay, whatever. Isn't it late? Shouldn't you be in bed?" He crossed his arms.

"Yeah. Sorry. I'm going to bed now!" I stood up in a rush and practically ran back inside and up the stairs, feeling like a child getting caught in the act of stealing a cookie before dinner.

"And the next time I catch you playing and _talking_ to wild animals, I'll tell dad." Uh-oh. Busted. "He'll probably shoot them off our property." I gulped and froze mid-step on the stairs.

"H-h-he wouldn't." I stuttered.

"Oh, you'd be surprised what he'd do if he found out Se–, I mean you sneak out to play with wild animals at night."

"I'm sorry!" I cried before running back to my bedroom and closing the door.

I heard him laugh and then, I heard him talking… to himself, downstairs. I cracked the door open a few inches and poked my head out. Jacob wouldn't talk to himself. But there was no one downstairs besides… my wolf. I could barely hear the muffled conversation. I only heard the words 'Kaitlyn', 'night', 'see her', 'morning', and 'Seth'. Why was he talking about Seth to my wolf? My heart did a little flip when I thought of him.

I was silently hoping I would be able to see him again tomorrow.


	8. Chapter 8: Life With Boys

_Author's Note: I want to thank gaaragirl202 for constantly reviewing. You make me so happy! Btw, you wrote 75% of the reviews so far. Keep it up!_

_Phanizy – Seth is my favourite wolf too! 3_

_Thank you to j1u29, CookiedMonster, Phanizy for adding my story to your Story Alert! And to HayleeLovesIt for adding my story to your Favourite Story List!_

_To everyone else, please favourite and review! Enjoy :D_

**Chapter 8: Life With Boys**

I couldn't fall asleep last night. And in the little portions of the night that I did fall asleep, my mind merged my memories of Seth and my wolf together. Which didn't make any sense. Because how were they related in any way at all? I practically jumped out of bed in the morning. I wasn't tired or sleepy in the least. It was eight a.m. It was a good a time as ever to attempt to clean up the huge giant mess also known as 'downstairs'. Even the name made me shudder in anticipation.

I got out of bed and stretched before taking a long hot shower, dreading to go downstairs to clean up the mess. Of course, it took me a while to find the bathroom, but it wasn't hard, considering this was a small house. The shower woke me up and I instantly felt more alert. I absolutely hated coffee, except iced coffee. I quickly pulled on some jeans and a simple cotton T-shirt and walked downstairs. I decided on making breakfast first as Billy and Jacob would soon be awake.

I had already seen firsthand just how much Jacob could eat. Billy ate like a normal person, and I didn't usually eat all that much, but Jake was something else… I threw open the fridge door and rummaged in it for something edible. To-do list for today: 1. Tidy the house. 2. Go grocery shopping. For FIVE people, and Billy, and me.

Finally, I found some eggs and bacon. I popped as much bread as I could fit in the toaster before scrambling the eggs and frying the bacon. Just as I was done, I heard a crashing noise from upstairs and flinched, almost dropping the pan of bacon. 3 seconds later, Jacob came running the down the stairs at full speed, nearly crashing into me and knocking me over.

"Oh. My. God. Real food!" He squealed like a little girl.

I rolled my eyes. "Haven't you had 'real food' before?"

"Not for the past week, I haven't. Billy's almost always been at Sue's every single day. And I was forced to eat leftovers or whatever few things I _can_ cook." He tried to steal a piece of bacon but I smacked his hand with my spoon.

"Can't you wait for one minute?" I asked, raising one eyebrow, a skill that had taken me forever to master.

He shook his head and skipped off to the dining table singing – yes, singing – "I'll set the table!"

This is what I get for living in a house… full of boys. I dumped an insane amount of bacon and eggs onto two plates and tried not to drop them as I walked very slowly to the dining table. Jacob walked over to me, took one look, then snatched the plates right out of m hand and brought them to the table with grace and ease. I envied him for that. It wasn't that I was clumsy; it's just that I was accident-prone.

True to his word, the table was all set for the three of us. He started spooning large amounts of each onto his plate. It was good that I expected that, otherwise, there would be no more left for Billy and I. Shoot. I had forgotten the toast. I dashed back to the kitchen, grabbed another plate, and loaded the toast onto it and placed it on the table as well. I was waiting for Jacob to finish eating before doing so myself, afraid that I would get in the way of his… aggressive eating habits. He was basically shoving everything in his mouth. It was as though he hadn't eaten for days. I swear, that boy doesn't even swallow.

When he was done – there was thankfully, enough food left – he got up, crossed the room to me, and gave me a hug. "Did I ever tell you how much I love you, Kaitlyn? I'm so glad you came to La Push." Luckily, it wasn't a bone-crushing hug, like the one I got at the airport, or I would've died from the lack of oxygen.

I laughed. "Is it just because I make you food?" I asked half serious.

"No. It's because you make DELICIOUS food!" He stepped back and grinned at me. "Well, I'm off to a friend's house now. Bye! See you later!" And with that, he walked out the front door, leaving me standing there all alone.

I was grateful that Billy chose that exact moment to walk in.

"Good morning!" I called over my shoulder.

"Morning, Kate. Sleep well?" He questioned, taking a seat at the table. I followed and sat across from him.

"Yeah." I guess he didn't know about the wolf incident. Oh well, what he doesn't know won't kill him. "Thanks again for taking me in."

"Oh, it's my pleasure. Your dad and me were really close, almost like twins. We told each other everything." He sighed. "It really is a shame he had to go so soon. He'll be missed by us all."

The rest of breakfast went by silently. I did the dishes while Billy talked on the phone with Sue, I think. I heard my name being mentioned once or twice but I wasn't sure. After that, I started to clean up the living area. It wasn't as easy as it looked. It was cluttered with mainly pizza boxes; take out boxes, and empty chip packets. But after three hours of hard work, it was finally done. I stepped back and admired my work in satisfaction.

In one check of the time, my satisfaction was gone. It was noon. I had to make lunch. I ran to the kitchen, trying to salvage something, anything, from the expired food items. The doorbell rang then. I frowned, annoyed that I would have to entertain guests and make lunch at the same time. Billy beat me to the door though.

"Hi, Sue! Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it." His deep voice carried all the way over to me, even though he was facing Sue.

"No problem! Seth was _dying_ to come, if you know what I mean." Her tone suggested that she and Billy both knew something I didn't.

"Mom!" Seth half-whined. I gasped. Seth was here. My wish actually came true. I resisted the urge to do a little victory dance.

They shared a brief laugh.

By then, I had reached the front door and was peeking out from behind Billy. My eyes settled first on Seth's face, and there were butterflies in my stomach, before turning my gaze to Sue and nodding in greeting. I noted that Leah wasn't here. "Hello, Kaitlyn. I brought lunch because I though you would be too tired to cook." She gestured to the containers of food in Seth's arms.

I smiled. "Thank you, Mrs. Clearwater. You're a lifesaver!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Seth's smile falter a little before he recovered it. "Oh, please. Call me Sue."

When we were seated at the dining table eating the delicious meal Sue had made, the butterflies in my stomach still hadn't settled. Seth was sitting across from me again, staring at real weird like the other day. But this time, it was less intense. Billy and Sue were talking about something trivial, like the weather or something. Lunch soon passed with me saying absolutely nothing to Seth or vice versa. It was a comfortable silence, though. It was hard to describe.

When we were all sitting in the living room together, I just remembered something.

"Uncle Billy? I have to go grocery shopping for tonight. There's hardly anything edible left in the fridge."

"Oh, sure, kiddo. Here's some money for food." He handed me $300 and turned to Sue. "Sue, do you think Seth will mind driving Kaitlyn to the store?"

"I'm sure he'd love to! Isn't that right Seth?" She turned to him, and I did too. He was nodding and grinning like an idiot. And… was it just my imagination, or did Sue wink at Seth?

"Let's go then!" He jumped up and held my hand, pulling me along gently with him.


	9. Chapter 9: Getting To Know You

_Author's Note: A big thank you to those who reviewed, you guys make me the happiest author in the world!_

_Annoontje –Of course I'll write more! I'm reaching that stage where I get really attached to my characters and story so I can't wait to continue writing! Also, thank you for adding my story to your Favourite Story and Story Alert list, and me to your Favourite Author, and Author Alert list. You make me feel so proud and special! 3_

_Phanizy - Your enthusiasm in overwhelming!_

_Naminobaka4lyfe – Thanks for adding my story to your Favourite Story list!_

_Jlu29 – Thank you sooo much! Piles of suspense to be expected in the next few chapters._

_To everyone else – please favourite and review! _

**Chapter 9: Getting To Know You**

"Wait! Seth, stop!" I tried to twist my hand out of his grasp, and after a minute of fidgeting, he finally noticed and let go. His grip hadn't been particularly tight, but it was firm. I almost smiled dreamily and let myself get pulled along. The thing that stopped me was the thought that the fridge still needed cleaning out, or else there wasn't going to be any room for the groceries I was going to buy back.

I started towards the kitchen. And, as I expected, Seth followed. I mentally smiled. "What's wrong? Kate, aren't we going grocery shopping?"

"We are. I just need to do something really quick. It'll only be a moment." After dumping all the expired contents – that I'd rather not describe in detail – of the fridge into a plastic bag, I tied it up and threw it in the garbage bin outside before returning to Seth's side. "Okay, done. We can go now!" I smiled up at Seth's face. He returned it instantly.

Without saying a word, he took my hand – I mentally slapped myself for almost giggling – and led me outside. On the way, we passed Sue and Billy, who were sharing a private conversation. They had their heads bent towards each other and were talking excessively quietly, so as not to let Seth and I hear what they were saying. When I had stepped outside, Billy had shouted an embarrassing, "Don't have too much fun out!" which had made Seth turn a bright red. Even I admit that was quite a feat for Quileute's, since we were naturally dark skinned. I was an exception. I was pretty fair for a Quileute, and came off as a tan person.

I looked up into the sky. I guess my favourite time was twilight. I loved watching the sun fall ever so slowly below the horizon, as the day slowly settled into night. I guess the part I really loved about twilight were the colours and sounds. The sky was filled with countess shades of reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, and purples. Oh, there were just too many to count them all. And if you listened carefully, there were subtle noises that you could just barely hear, like the crickets chirping, the birds flying home for the night, the occasional squirrel scurrying up and down a tree. Here in La Push, the sounds were much clearer, seeing as we were living so close to the woods.

The evening was a little chilly and I shivered.

"Are you cold, Kaitlyn?" Seth asked, a worried look etched onto his face. I had almost forgotten he was here, lost in my own thoughts. I decided I'd stop getting distracted and pay more attention to him, since he was after all, driving me to the store. Which reminded me of something…

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm fine." We got in the car. It was then that I decided to ask him. "Hey, Seth? I thought you were fifteen. How come you can drive me to the store then?" I turned to face him.

"Oh, umm.. Actually, I turned sixteen today. And I just got my license earlier." He looked kind of sheepish.

"Oh." And then it hit me. It was his birthday today. Ugh, I was so stupid. "OH! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SETH! I'm sorry I don't a present for you, I feel like such a bad person. It's because I didn't know about it earlier. I mean, if I did, I would have definitely got you something…" I started rambling on and on. I hated myself for that. I only did that when I was nervous, and this usually seemed to happen mainly when I was around Seth.

Suddenly, without warning, Seth leaned forward and pressed his lips lightly to mine. That halted the long train of words coming out of my mouth for good. I felt my eyes widen in surprise and heat rise to my cheeks. They barely made contact, simply brushing against mine. It lasted too short for my taste. But after precisely 2 seconds, he leaned back.

"I'm sorry, Kaitlyn. I guess that was too soon, huh?" He sighed, and I just wanted to reach over and throw my arms around him. "I don't know what came over me."

"Seth?" He turned his head towards me. "Was that counted as a kiss?" I asked when the heat in my cheeks died down a little.

"I guess, why?" He questioned, his eyebrows were creased.

"If it does count, then you have the honour of being my first kiss." I smiled at him. His grin was enormous, showing all of his perfect white teeth. "Oh, and you can call me Kate." I winked.


	10. Chapter 10: Crush

_Author's Note: Thanks to E. Livingston for adding my story to your Story Alert._

_Feel free to add some input. I sincerely apologize if the story feels boring, or like it's going nowhere. I promise I'll add the climax, probably in the 11__th__, and/or 12__th__ chapters. Thanks for being patient!_

**Chapter 10: Crush**

"Kate…" He murmured. The way he said my name was so soft. It was as if his voice were slowly caressing my name. There was so much emotion in it as well, too many to pick out individually. Love, adoration, hope, wonder, confusion… I would take forever trying to name them all. Before I knew it, he started to lean forward again.

I held my hand up and stopped him, right as our lips were about to collide. He took one look at my hand resting in between our lips and said a soft, "Sorry," before backing up, and pulling out of the driveway. "Too early, wasn't it?" I didn't answer. "I'm sorry." He apologized again.

"I-it's okay." My voice was shaky as I said this. "You know what? Consider that kiss your birthday present." I said after a lengthy pause.

The rest of the drive was oddly quiet. When I first met him, I had percepted Seth to be animated and chatty, but during the drive there he hadn't said anything to me at all. I was getting worried. Now, I know I shouldn't be obsessing over a boy I just met, or reading too deeply into things. But I couldn't help it. I was a girl, that's what girls did. Worry about things that were beyond our control. I took a deep breath. "Hey, Seth? You're not… mad at me, are you? You know, about what happened earlier?" I crossed my fingers in anticipation for the answer.

He seemed genuinely startled. "What? I thought you would be mad at me for kissing you. I know what a shock you must've been in. Having a random stranger go up to you and kiss you like that." I was about to say something, that I actually kind of enjoyed it, when he took a deep breath and continued. "Look, Kaitly – Kate, I love you. Honestly, I do! It's not a joke; I'm not playing a prank. This is just me, putting my feelings for you out there. The thing is, I'm scared. I'm scared of being rejected and having the worst heartbreak I'm ever going to get in my life. I don't know how you're going to take it. Maybe this _is_ too soon, after all. Ugh, I should've waited longer before I told you this. Kate, you don't have to say anything if you don't want to." He looked down.

We were now in the store's parking lot, and I had tears in my eyes. I didn't trust myself to speak now; I didn't want to hear what I sounded like. I just placed my hand on his arm. He turned up, very slowly, and his gaze finally rested on my hand. His eyes were so conflicted; it, too, was filled with tears. After a long moment, I said, "I-I think… I might be in l-love with you too. I slid my arm down so it fit into his hand – his giant, freakishly warm hand. I didn't pull away though.

A tear ran down my cheek, but I still gave him the best reassuring smile I could under the circumstances. He returned that smile easily and gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Come on, we better hurry up if you want to get back for dinner. I'm sure Billy's starting to get worried."

_I didn't want to go back for dinner. I wanted to stay here forever and ever. With you._ I thought. Of course, I didn't say that. Instead, I said, "Sure," before hopping out of the car and walking to the entrance. Seth walked by my side although with the length of his legs, he could easily have walked twice as fast as me. All through the grocery shopping, Seth was quiet and thoughtful as he watched me choose between brands and decide how much food to buy. The total came to $298.97. I was impressed with how good Billy was at predicting how much I would spend.

The cart was heavy as I pushed it out of the store so Seth offered to help. He was somehow able to push the thing without much effort or thought. The guy wasn't even breaking a sweat doing it. He loaded the items in the back and, despite my protests, declined my help. He suggested that I go inside while he put the cart back too, which was probably him just being nice. I was freezing now that the sun had completely set. I deeply regret not bringing a thicker sweater now. Seth didn't seem to be affected by the cold at all. He was simply wearing a T-shirt and shorts. I frowned and listed that under my new To-Do List. 1: Figure out what the heck was wrong with Seth.

When we got home, Seth wasted no time in unloading the groceries into the house. By the time he was done, Sue was just stepping outside. She practically ran up to Seth.

"There you are! I was so worried; you were so late and I didn't know what happened. And Kaitlyn was with you. I was scared you might've phased and hurt her." I made note of the term 'phased'. I would have to look that up later.

Seth replied with, "Mom, you know I would NEVER do that." He emphasized on that word with so much confidence and determination.

Sue seemed to calm down somewhat. "Honey, we have to go home now. Say goodbye to Kaitlyn. Oh! You know what? You can invite her to the bon fire this Friday!"

"Sounds great mom." He walked over to where I was leaning awkwardly on the car door. "So, Kaitlyn. The elders are having this bon fire thing – it's really cool. You get to eat and meet a whole bunch of people. And Billy's telling the Quileute legends – and I was wondering if you wanted to go? With me?" He added that last part hopefully.

I grinned. "I would love to. So, see you Friday?"

"Friday." He nodded in confirmation.

After waving goodbye to the Clearwater's as they drove off, I went back inside. The minute the door was closed, I had sank to my knees and fallen to the floor with a big idiotic grin plastered on my face. I absolutely couldn't wait till Friday.


	11. Chapter 11: Bonfire

_Author's Note: Loves S. J and BlondBanana, thank you for adding my story to your Favourite Story list._

_PiperMcLean351 – Thank you!_

_Annoontje – Whoaaaa… Of course I'll write more! I'm at that point where I'm starting to get really attached to my characters._

_SkyLights4Life – Haha, thanks! Btw, love your name._

**Chapter 11: Bonfire**

"Whoa." Jacob stated from behind me, causing me to jump back ten feet in the air. Well, not literally, but you get the point.

"What's wrong? Do I look okay?" It was the big day, also know to other people as Friday, and I was a nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. Seth had offered to drive me there, but Billy had insisted that it was easier for him to just do that. Billy said we were leaving at six, which meant I only had fifteen minutes left. And I still couldn't decide if I should wear any make-up. My mom always told me that I looked good without it, and that natural beauty was the best kind. She said make-up only made you look prettier on the outside, but it was the inside that counted. She had also mentioned something else, but I was having trouble remembering it. Oh, now I wished I had paid more attention to the little things she said. Because now that she's gone, I won't ever hear her say it again…

"No…" He distracted me from my inner ranting. "You look… really pretty. I would say you were hot, but you're my cousin, and that would just make things really awkward, you know?"

"Oh, thanks Jake." I smiled.

"Any time." He was heading out the door, when he stopped mid-stride. "This all for Seth, huh?"

I felt colour rise to my cheeks. "No, what makes you think that? Can't a girl look pretty for her first bonfire?" I placed a hand on my hip, trying to sound confident, despite the fact that I knew he could see that my face was flushed.

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say. Just came to tell you that we're leaving soon and Billy doesn't want to be late because it's his job to tell the legends."

After he left, I turned to look at myself in the full-length mirror. I was wearing a floral print dress, paired with leggings and a light sweater, as it was supposed to be chilly out tonight. My mid-length dark brown, almost black, hair tumbled down in soft waves around my shoulders. It brought out the brown and gold flecks in my blue eyes. I was still debating on whether I should wear make-up. Finally, I decided I would just wear some lip-gloss, before dashing down the stairs.

Billy and Jacob were all ready to go and had just been waiting for me. The minute we had all gotten into the car, I had scrambled to the window to get a better view. Jacob laughed briefly at how eager I was before starting the car. After a couple minutes, I could see a pulsing amber light in the distance. Either we made really good time, or La Push was just generally very small. I was putting my money on the latter. In ten minutes flat, we pulled up in the parking lot, right next to the beach.

Jacob walked me to the beach, after helping Billy out of course, and sat with me until Seth came. He was talking to two of his friends, which he introduced to me as Quil and Embry. I was keeping myself busy by watching the flaming embers in the fire flicker, slowly getting mesmerized by it. Before I knew it, I was being embraced by a set of warm arms. I didn't even need to send a signal to my brain to react, I just did. I found myself hugging the person back, my body immediately feeling comfortable in his presence. When the person pulled back, I saw that it was Seth. Huh, the feeling that he gave me was comforting yet weird.

"Hi, Kaitlyn." He said unusually shyly, taking a seat beside me.

"Hey, Seth." I replied in the same tone.

"Oh, Seth, is this is the girl you impri–" One of Jacob's friends, Embry I think, was asking a question when Jake cut him off by elbowing him. "Ow! What was that for?" I assumed Jake gave him some sort of look, because after that he said, "Whoops, sorry." I wondered what he was about to say.

"Kate, did you wanna grab some food? Before it's all gone?" Seth took my hand and started to pull me up off the ground, completely distracting me, and making my thoughts incoherent.

"Sure." I answered, not knowing what else to say.

He dragged me around the bonfire and to where a few large tables were set up, each of them laden with heaps and heaps of food. Seth let go off my hand to grab a plate and began loading tons of food on his. I stared disbelievingly at the amount he had. But I quickly shrugged it off and began filling my own plate with a much more reasonable amount. Just then, a young woman stepped up from behind Seth. She was beautiful, quite possibly the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. She had glossy black hair and satiny copper skin. She looked sort of exotic. Compared to her, I was too plain, too normal. It was only then did I notice the three long, deep scars that ran down the length of her face. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it extended down her arm to her hand.

Seth nudged me gently. She was smiling at me, noticing my stare. "I'm sorry." I averted my gaze to the ground.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" Emily questioned Seth.

"Oh! Emily, this is Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn," He gestured to her, "Emily."

"Hello, you must be Kaitlyn. Seth's told so much about you. You're even prettier than he described. I turned a bright red.

"Em!" Seth cried.

"What? It's true!" She gave him her best innocent look, which was pretty darn convincing to me.

"Thank you." I mumbled, more self-consciously.

"I'm sure we'll have more time to get to know each other a little better later. But for now, I have to go find Sam." She said, before rushing off to find whoever this Sam guy was. At least I thought it was a guy.

Seth pulled me over to the side, near where a log was strategically placed for people to sit on, to whisper in my ear. His warm breath tickled my ear, and I fought the urge to giggle and instead try to pay attention to what he was saying. "That's Emily Young. Sam Uley's her fiancée." He continued, anticipating the question I was about to ask. "She was mauled by a bear, that's why her face is… you know. Don't stare, it bugs Sam."

"I didn't mean to." I admitted. "It's just that she's still so beautiful, even with the scars."

"You're really beautiful, too." Seth confessed.

I smiled and nudged him. "You're not too bad yourself."

I felt Seth go stiff beside me. I looked around to see a tall muscular guy, looking quite similar to Jacob and Seth staring at me. The minute my eyes connected with his, his jaw dropped and his eyes widened. There was another guy standing right next to him, whispering something that I couldn't hear in his ear.

"PAUL!" It was unmistakably Jacob's voice, shouting from across the bonfire. Everyone was now staring between Seth, me, and the guy that I assumed was Paul. "DID YOU JUST IMPRINT ON KAITLYN, TOO?"

_Author's Note: Oooohhh… Two imprints on the same girl? How can this be? 3 reviews to the next chapter!_


	12. Chapter 12: The Unexpected

_Author's Note: MrsMellark245, I'm guessing you're a Hunger Games fan by your name. I am too! But I'm Team Finnick all the way!_

_jlu29 – Thanks, and here you go!_

_Annoontje – Thank you for your constant reviews! They're really appreciated. 3_

_PiperMcLean351 – Ikr. And it does… in the end…_

**Chapter 12: The Unexpected**

The reaction that caused everyone was immediate. People, who were previously sitting down, now were standing up, running around the place, talking hurriedly to others. I was just standing there wondering what the heck was going on. I recalled hearing that word being said before, or almost being said before. 'Imprinted'. I pondered what it possibly meant. Seriously, it was like everyone here but me was in on some new language someone came up with.

The only people who didn't move since Jacob's outburst were Seth, Paul, and I. The emotions that flicked across Paul's face in the short span of exactly two seconds were similar to Seth's when I first met him. It was like he was in some sort of trance. His right arm was raised slightly, reaching in my general direction for something, desperation now on his face. It made me more and more self-conscious by the second. It was like his gaze bore into my very soul. Huh, another thing that was similar to when I first met Seth.

I made myself look away. At something – ANYTHING – other than this Paul guy. Turning my gaze to Seth, I saw that he was looking at me too. His eyes were filled with sadness that he quickly erased any signs of, when I looked at him. Stepping towards him, I asked, "Seth, what's going on?" I was shocked to hear how my voice sounded, scared and vulnerable.

"It's–" He paused, thinking of a word to describe the situation, before finally deciding on, "complicated." He sighed. "I'll probably have to explain it to you sooner rather than later." He took my hand in his large, warm one. "Come on."

He tugged me alongside him as we made our way to the water, away from the group that was calming down somewhat. Satisfied after finding the right spot, he sat down, pulling me down with him. We sat in silence for some time, staring at the ocean. The sound of the gentle waves lapping along the shoreline was rhythmic and relaxing. I looked up and noticed there was a full moon out tonight.

"What are you thinking?" Seth asked thoughtfully, after about five minutes.

"Hmm? Me? I was just thinking about how beautiful the moon looks tonight." I was still looking at the moon with wonder. "What are you thinking?"

He smiled. "I'm thinking how lucky I am, to have been given the chance to meet such a amazing girl." It took me two full seconds to realize that he meant me. Cue the blushing.

"Oh. You're pretty amazing yourself too." I smiled back.

He randomly asked, "Do you want to meet Paul?"

"I don't know. Do I have to? He seems a little weird." I admitted shyly, hoping that Paul wasn't his best friend or something like that.

He chuckled softly to himself. "You can do that later if you want." He absent-mindedly picked up a pebble and tossed it towards the ocean. It skipped on the surface of the water a grand total of 23 times before plopping down into the sea, never to be seen again.

I sat up straighter. "Whoa. You have got to teach me how to do that. I can't skip a stone to save my life."

He grinned. "That wasn't even my best throw. I could teach you, if you want." He offered, already looking for a rock. After some searching, he found one and placed it in the palm of my right hand. It was round, flat, and smooth. He stood up and I followed eagerly. "Okay, now what you want to do is hold it horizontally – flat side down." He took hold of the hand that was holding the rock, his voice at my ear. I tried to ignore the fact that my heart was beating so fast and hard, there were audible thumps in my ear. "Let go of it on three." He positioned my arm. "One, two, three!"

He flicked my wrist gently and I watched as the rock sailed across the water with four skips. "That's so cool! If stone skipping were a sport, I'd take it everyday in gym. I suck at all the other sports."

"What are you good at then?" He seemed genuinely curious. I noted that he still hadn't let go of my hand, even though there was no need to do it.

I considered it for a while before deciding on, "Art. I sketch sometimes, and my parents used to say that I was pretty good at it."

"I guess you have to show me sometimes." He tugged on my hand. "Come on, we have to get back to the others." Everyone had calmed down, more or less. They were now all staring at us – Seth and I, him holding my hand. I hesitated slightly, feeling uncomfortable under all their gazes. Seth, sensing my discomfort, whispered, "Hey, it's okay. I'm standing right by your side." I heard him mumble to himself, "And I'll be there forever." He placed a soft kiss on the top of my head.

That's when all hell broke loose.

The first thing I heard after that was a sharp ripping noise, like the shredding of fabric. After that, came violent snarls and growls. It didn't make sense. There was nowhere it could have come from. Then, my eyes spotted it. It was a giant wolf, bigger than the wolf I met at Billy's house, with dark silver fur. The look on its face was absolutely terrifying; it made my blood run cold. And it was lunging straight at us – straight at me. I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

I felt the breath knocked out of me as I hit the ground hard. My vision went black. I heard menacing growls that were just too horrible to focus too much on. There was a buzzing noise next. It was almost as if everyone was trying to talk at the same time. I felt like telling all of them to shut up so I could understand what was going on, but of course, I couldn't. Among all of that chaotic noise, I heard Seth's voice.

"PAUL! PAUL, STOP!" The growling stopped. "Look what you've done…" His voice was filled with so much emotion that it would have brought me to tears if I'd seen his expression. I wanted to wrap my arms around him. But I couldn't do that either. Damn, I hated this state that I was in. There was a painful whimpering, like the wolf had been shot with a bullet straight through its heart, before the sound of heavy paws hitting the ground.

I heard a heartbreaking howl coming from somewhere to my right before the world fell silent.


	13. Chapter 13: Awakening

_Author's Note: Sorry if I haven't been updating in a while. I've sorta been busy with finals coming up. The good news is that I got 100% on my LA essay final! Whoooo! Anyway…. Crazyblonde13, thanks for adding me to your Favourite Author's List, and Author alert and Favourite Story List! Crazybread, DivineMadness101, and daydreamer0001, thank you for adding this story to your Favourite Story list._

_Phanizy: Uhhh… Thanks? Haha_

_MrsMellark245: Did you finish Mockingjay yet? It's sooo sad what happens to Finnick at the end. I don't want to reveal any spoilers in case the people reading my story haven't read the amazing series – also known as THE HUNGER GAMES!_

_Annoontje: Hahaha… Thank you sooo much for your constant reviewing! You make me such a proud fanfic author 3_

_Crazyblonde13: Thanks, mine too! Sorry about the lack of constant updates. I'm just crazy busy this time of year with finals. I'll still try to find time to write though._

**Chapter 13: Awakening**

_Bleep_. Pause. _Bleep_. Pause. _Bleep, bleep, bleep, bleep_… The incessant bleeping of some machine next to me was giving me a headache. But at the same time, I was grateful for it. It meant that I was still alive. I wanted to continue living. I was only fifteen; there were so many things I had yet to do.

It was then that I got my senses back. The first thing that hit me was the cold air. A shiver ran down my spine. Then I felt something on my right hand. Someone was grasping it firmly, as if afraid I was going to slip away. Where could I go? I couldn't even make my eyelids open. The warmth that seemed to radiate from the hand was a sharp contrast to the cool air. I heard a worried voice saying something – I couldn't make out the exact words – and heard my name a few times.

I struggled to reply – to tell the person that I was here, that I could hear them, that I was _alive_. I focused on the muscles in my hand, much more than was probably necessary, and forced them to squeeze the person's hand back. Almost immediately, I heard a difference in the tone of the person's – _Seth,_ my heart told me – voice. It was shock mixed with joy and happiness.

He began to say something else. It sounded like, "Jacov–" I missed out what he said in the middle. "Let tah paeck knaw." It didn't make any sense.

I felt my eyelids start to flutter. Slowly, they opened. The first thing I saw was Seth's face, making me gasp softly. It was barely two inches away from mine. My ribs hurt when I did that and I winced in pain.

"Kaitlyn? Oh, Kate! I missed you so much!" He enveloped me in a gentle hug, his arms just brushing mine slightly before pulling back again. I tried to refocus my eyes and peered around. I saw Sue standing by the door, talking to someone excitedly on the phone. She then dashed off outside, after whispering something to Seth. The room we were in was a sickly white colour. My bed was white, the walls and floor were white, and the furniture was white. EVERYTHING was white. Seriously, it was like a snowman threw up all over this room or something.

"Hi." I breathed out; closing my eyes at the pain I felt when air when through my lungs.

Seth's face twisted into frown, his eyes filled with so much pain, I could literally feel it. "Kate, I'm so sorry. So, so, _so_ sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen. I tried to stop it – I really did – but it all happened too fast." He exhaled. "I promise, Kaitlyn, I'll never let this type of thing happen again. Promise." He was stroking my cheek.

"Wha–? What are you talking about?" I whispered. I was surprised he was still able to hear me with the volume I was now reduced to speaking in.

He smiled, but it was a weak attempt at best. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

I tried to get up, swinging my legs over the bed. My left leg felt a little heavier than the right, but I didn't think much of it until I heard a soft clicking sound. Wrapped around my foot was one of those Air Casts that you needed to get when you fractured your foot. I stared disbelievingly at it. When I tried to reach down to fiddle with it, I just noticed that my left arm was in a similar looking blue cast. Okay, so I probably broke my foot and my arm – both on the left side – and my ribs hurt when I breathe or talk. "Seth…?" I asked nervously, still not able to go any louder than before.

"Yes?" He looked grim now.

"How long was I out?"

"Three days." On my right hand, I saw one of those drips that provided my body with fluids, and was the only thing preventing me from dying of dehydration.

My mouth fell open in surprise. Three days? What had happened to me? It wasn't like I was sky diving or doing anything dangerous like that. My head throbbed when I tried to recall the last thing I remembered doing before winding up in the hospital.

"I know. I'll explain later. The doctors told me not to give you any news that might startle you in the slightest, because you're still recovering and might go into shock or something like that."

"Can I go for a walk?" He stared at me like he thought I was crazy, then at my left foot. He raised a perfect eyebrow, a skill I could never master. Before I knew it, he was out the door in a flash, rushing off in such a hurry to a place that was unknown to me.

When he came back, he was wheeling a wheel chair in. He picked me up, careful of my arm, foot, ribs, and drip, and set me down on the chair. "Welcome to the grand tour of the La Push General Hospital! Please keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times." He stated in a tour-guide like manner.

I would have laughed at his impression of a tour-guide, but that would've been agony to my ribs. I was pretty sure it was bruised somehow.

Seth pushed the wheelchair around the halls of the hospital slowly, talking about something trivial that I wasn't really paying attention to anyway. He managed to both push me and pull the drip along at the same time. The halls were mostly empty. Since La Push wasn't a very big community, there weren't many people who were injured or sick. Unconsciously, I began humming a familiar – to me – tune. When I was done, I turned around to find Seth smiling with amusement.

Almost instantly after that, his face changed into focus and concentration, before worry. He sped off, still as gentle as ever with me, back the way we came and into my room. He laid me back on the bed and placed the wheelchair in the corner of the room. Sue was back again, now sitting on one of the three chairs the hospital furnished the room with.

"Paul's coming." He said, particularly to Sue. I noticed that he was shaking slightly.

"It's okay, honey. Nothing's gonna happen this time." Her words were comforting, but I didn't understand why she moved further away from him. Neither did I know how Seth knew that Paul was on his way here? He wasn't on the phone, and he didn't talk to anyone besides me. So how was that possible? It was all so confusing.

"How do you know?" Seth's fists were clenched tightly.

"Because you know what could happen now, and you know how to deal with it." He closed his eyes and started to shake even more. "Seth, I wish you would stop doing that. You're scaring poor Kate."

His breath caught at the mention of my name and all the shaking stopped at once. His eyes spun around to find me bundled up in the sheets. In a flash, he was by my side, planting his lips firmly on the top of my head. "I won't let anything hurt you again. Promise…" He mumbled. Then he sprinted to the door, placing his hands on either side of the doorframe, sort of blocking anyone from entering the room.

And sure enough, there was Paul, appearing on the other side of Seth, giving him a pleading look. "Seth, please… You have to let me in–" His sentence was cut short when Jacob and Embry, I think, were on each side of Paul, trying to drag him away. I doubt that was an easy task, because Paul put up quite a struggle himself.

"One thing! Just let me tell her one thing!" He half shouted about a foot away from the door now.

"Fine. Make it quick." Jacob allowed rather grudgingly.

Seth growled low and menacingly, but stepped out of the way. Paul approached me hesitantly, stopping five feet away from me. He looked right into my eyes. I saw that his hair was disheveled, he had heavy eye bags underneath his eyes, and his face was haggard looking. All in all – not being rude or anything – he looked _awful_.

When he opened his mouth to talk, his voice broke a little. "I'm sorry."


	14. Chapter 14: The Truth

**Chapter 14: The Truth**

Sitting on the couch, in front of the television all day was not a fun way to spend your weekend. Though I couldn't really do anything else with a busted foot and arm, and bruised ribs. Even though Seth had promised me an explanation, I still hadn't gotten one two days later. I was aimlessly flipping though channels that I was hardly paying attention to anyway, that Sunday evening, when the doorbell rang. Huh. No one ever rang doorbells here in La Push. Since it was such a small town, everyone knew each other, so they pretty much just walked right in. I wasn't even sure Billy or Jacob locked the door at night or when they were out.

I tried to get up to answer it, but that was a bad idea. Standing up, I had accidentally put all my weight on my left foot – the one that was in an Air Cast – and winced in pain. I quickly shifted it. I was able to walk. The doctors had only advised me to do it when necessary. I wasn't even allowed to walk for too long distances. Half limping, half hoping there was taking forever. The doorbell rang again, this time more impatient.

"Jacob? Door!" I called, praying he would hear it and get it for me already. When I looked back, I saw that I had barely created any distance between the couch and me. "Jake!"

I heard the pounding of footsteps coming down the stairs. Jake was now at the door, opening it to reveal Seth, Paul, and Emily's fiancée. I think his name was Sam. They were probably here to see Jacob so I sat back down again, resuming my channel flipping. I didn't pay any attention to whatever they were talking about until a large figure came to stand right in front of me, completely blocking my view of the television screen. I was about to protest, but when I saw who it was, I thought better of it. Sam Uley had a certain air of authority and seriousness around him, that I dare not say anything. I was just staring, wide-eyed at him.

"Kaitlyn? Do you mind if we have a talk?" He asked politely.

I nodded mutely.

It took all of two seconds to get everyone seated. Jacob had his arms crossed, and a firm expression on his face, like he wanted to be somewhere else, but couldn't. Seth looked jumpy and excited. The only one acting weird was Paul. He seemed conflicted, sulking in a corner, his gaze fixed on me. I looked away. Back at Sam, who was clearing his throat. "Kaitlyn, how much do you know about the old legends?"

"Not much." I admitted shyly, not knowing I'd get a pop quiz on my heritage. "Why?"

He started to tell me about Taha Aki, the spirit warriors, and the men who changed into wolves. _Werewolves_. The word immediately popped into my head. When he was done, he watched my reaction. I think I had a blank look on my face. I wondered what these legends had to do with me at all. I knew they had better things to do than come here to give me a history lesson.

About a minute of utter silence passed before Sam said, "Kaitlyn, the legends are true."

"W-what do you mean?" I had no clue what he was talking about.

He repeated what he said before slower this time, like that would help me grasp what he was trying to tell me.

It took me a while to process this. "Are you saying that there are such things as …_werewolves_?" I asked skeptically. "Is this some kind of prank?" I started looking around, waiting for people to jump out of their hiding places and laugh at me. "If it is, then it's not funny."

"No, it isn't. I'm perfectly serious." The look on Sam's face told me he wasn't lying.

"Me too! Are you sure there's nothing wrong with you guys?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at each of them in turn.

"No, there isn't, If you would just let me expla–" I cut Sam off.

"I'm easily convinced, but I'm not _that_ gullible. Werewolves, pfft… Next you're going to tell me that other mythical creatures like vampires, wizards, and unicorns are real too!" I snapped.

"Kate, listen to me." Jacob, who was sitting next to me, tilted my chin so I was forced to look into his eyes. "If you don't believe me _yet_, that's fine. But I'm being perfectly honest when I tell you that we're," He gestured to everyone

"Okay, go ahead."

As if on cue, everyone got up and headed outside. I trailed along slowly, not sure what I was preparing myself to see. Seth was hiding behind some bushes doing God knows what, while the others watched me. Some sort of rustling noise came from where Seth was. I stepped a little closer, trying to see what was happening when a large wolf stepped out of the bushed, in replacement of Seth.

The boy was nowhere to be seen. And there was also the fact that I was standing three feet away from a giant wolf. I went into full panic mode; my thoughts weren't even coherent to me anymore. I'm sure I had a look of pure shock on my face and I felt my mouth hanging open. I tried to recompose myself, not letting it sense my fear and all. Unfortunately, it didn't work out that well.

Then something clicked in my subconscious. I realized the wolf that was standing before me was a sandy colour. The same sandy colour as the wolf I met on the night I first came to La Push.

I was unable to sleep, and so I was walking around when I found this wolf in the backyard. I remembered that it didn't mean any harm; it was pretty friendly. But could I be sure that this was the same wolf? And was Seth telling the truth when he told me he was a – I forced myself to say it – werewolf? I guess there was only one way to find out.

"Seth?"


	15. Chapter 15: Understanding

**Chapter 15: Understanding**

"Seth?" I called, tentatively, to the wolf. The expression on the wolf's face was so strange, so _human_, so Seth. Anybody could take one look at the wolf and tell that it wasn't a normal wolf. Normal. Did that word mean anything anymore? My life had been normal, up until five minutes ago, before I had been told about werewolves. Some part of me wanted to believe that it was real, that Seth and Jacob and their friends were all werewolves, but the more rational part of my brain denied it.

How were mythical creatures real? Why hadn't I known about this sooner? I mean, Jacob was my cousin, so didn't I deserve the right to know? Sure, I wouldn't be exactly okay with him straight out telling me, 'Oh, Kate. Sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I'm a werewolf! Kay, bye!' But at least it would've been the truth. Why did they only tell me now, after I had broken my arm and foot? That reminded me that I still wasn't quite sure what happened that night of the bonfire… Every time I tried to remember the details, my mind only produced blurred memories.

The wolf – _Seth_, I mentally corrected myself – nodded, and gave me a wolfy grin. I hesitantly reached out my hand, as if asking, 'Is this okay?' He replied my ducking his head under my hand. I stroke its fur, feeling the coarse guard hairs and the soft coat underneath. It – he – thumped its tail against the ground in rhythmic beats in pleasure.

I turned back to the others. Sam's face was unreadable, still trying to judge my reaction. Jacob's, on the other hand, was excited and happy that I finally, sort of, believed them. Paul was nowhere to be seen. Hmm… Maybe he had somewhere to go or something else better to do than watch me play with an overgrown wolf. "This wolf… it's Seth, isn't it?" I asked them.

"Yeah. Great to see that you finally believe us crazy people!" Jacob called.

"Can you guys… turn into wolves too?"

"Sure." He shrugged. "You don't get to see today, though, since you didn't believe us earlier. We'll show you another time."

I leaned in closer to the wolf so my mouth was inches away from its ear. "I remember you from that night you visited me when I couldn't sleep." It nodded its head like it remembered too. "I named you Fluffy." The wolf started laughing, or the wolf version of a laugh. I jumped when Jacob started laughing too. Sam was trying to hide a smile.

"I'm surprised you're taking this so well. Emily thought I was crazy and tried to get 'help' for me. Kim – Jared's girlfriend – ran away screaming and got lost in the woods. Claire's too young to know about this. And Renesmee's the only that didn't freak out, since she's not normal herself." Sam explained. I didn't know most of the names he just mentioned. Oh well, I guess I'd have to find that out myself later. I wondered what he meant when he said not normal. I was pretty sure 'not normal' translated into 'not human'. There was something about the tone of his voice when he said her name that told me she wasn't one of them – a werewolf. I'd just ask Seth about that later.

"Oh. Where's Paul?"

Something flashed in Sam's eyes. It was gone too quick for me to detect what it was. "He had… things to do."

I groaned. "Are there more secrets that you're keeping from me? If there are, you should probably tell me. I think it'd be better to get it out all at once than one at a time. And now's probably a good time, since my brain hasn't fully grasped the whole werewolf thing. Once it does, I'll probably run away in denial too." Hurt flashed in Seth's eyes beside me. I tried my best to ignore it.

"Actually, I think it would be better if Seth told you." He turned to Seth. "After he changes back, of course."

Seth, the wolf, nodded and ran back behind the bushes, presumably to change back to his human form. I waited patiently, watching as Sam and Jacob both turned to leave. That meant I was going to be alone with Seth. I could finally ask him all those questions. There were so many, I didn't know where to start…

Seth stepped out again, this time with arms and legs, and fully clothed. He looked deep into my eyes. It's almost as if he could read my thoughts because he said, "We need to talk."


	16. Thank You Chapter

**Thank You Chapter**

Hey everyone! Firstly, I apologize to all of you who have been following my story a thousand times over, from the bottom of my awful heart. I didn't mean to abandon it like that. It was just that I'd been a little busy at the time of said abandonment, and had put it off, saying I'd do it at a later date. Which subsequently never happened since I replaced this specific creative writing outlet with attempting to write a full-length novel, just for my own fun and to have that personal achievement. I'm proud to say that that is about half complete when I just came across a couple of e-mails from the wonderful website known as , claiming that I had gained another new follower for my story/follower/review/favourite from an amazing person by the name of **MissMoreno**, all in one day.

Also, a new review from **MissSpazzyMcGee**, asking for me to "update soon". Which I, of course, had to agree to, being the easily convinced person that I am. Remembering that I had an account and used to be hooked to it, I re-read my old story and immediately felt the desire – no, need – to finish telling the tale I started a while back. I will try to start writing by the upcoming weekend. (I can't really do it over the week, as I'm busy with IB Application forms, unit finals, and school projects that I have to wrap up before winter break.) Thank you for understanding though. And thank you especially if you had the determination and persistance to read through all of my blabbering.

Just a reminder, I would greatly appreciate it if you took the time to review. It only takes under a minute to write a simple sentence of encouragement/constructive criticism. I would be happy to accept either one. And it just makes me so excited to check my inbox at the end of the day and find out that a couple of amazing people took the time to make me insanely happy.


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